Community Chat

[gloriajean]

If everyone thought alike, no one would have to do much thinking.
Lord, bless me with the strength of my convictions and the ability
to disagree when necessary without being disagreeable.

Scripture for the day:

"Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and
say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; for a friend of
mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.' And he
answers from within, 'Do not bother me; the door has already been
locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give
you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give
him anything because he is his friend, at least because of his
persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs. 'So I say
to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find;
knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks
receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who
knocks, the door will be opened.'"

Meditation for the day:

We can pray--and keep praying until it brings peace and serenity and a
feeling of communication with God who is near and ready to help. The
thought of God can be a balm for our hates and fears. In praying to
God, we can find healing for hurt feelings and resentments. In
thinking of God, doubts and fears can leave us. Instead of those
doubts and fears, there can flow into our hearts such faith and love
as is beyond the power of material things to give, and such peace as
the world can neither give nor take away. And with God, we can have
the tolerance to live and let live." ~Luke 11:5-10

Prayer for the day:

I pray that I may have true tolerance and understanding. I pray that
I may keep striving for these difficult things.

Greetings my friends! Hope your day has been going well. Thought I’d get this out early tonight and surprise you!! Ordinary day for me – a little cooler out, picked raspberries again, every other day now, and called Deil to wish her a Happy Birthday. She had a call from her son in Montana and his wife earlier, that was a nice blessing for her. Linus is back to work for 3 days again, we had pork chops for supper – he grilled both them and the sweet potato fries. All I made was a nice lettuce salad to eat while they were on the grill. Today I unpacked my wedding china that was still packed when we moved here, and put them in the dishwasher, and in it’s new place – I’ll be using it more often now – especially with our card club. I got nine place settings for the Wedding. My Mom started me out with a one place setting for the shower. This was 47 years ago! Everything is in fine shape except one little chip on one cup. Otherwise perfect. Lori wants this set after I’m gone so I know that it won’t have to be sold to strangers. Darla doesn’t want it, so there won’t be any hard feelings there. We had a little rain here today – sounds like more rain is coming for a couple days this week. That’s good, just no storms. I count all my everyday blessings as great blessings! A nice day, I can breathe, I can walk, I can enjoy the porch, pick raspberries, cook, so many when you start to think about it. All positive happenings and great blessings!! Extra ordinary was talking to my sister on her 89th Birthday. She is in such good shape and health – and a blessing of a sister!! She’s the one who named me.

She was 17 1/2 when I was born.

Homily of the Day


October 10, 2011


Is your Life Proclaiming the Good News?
by Monsignor Dennis Clark, Ph.D.

Romans 1:1-7 / Lk 11:29-32

Paul begins today’s epistle by stating his credentials. “I’m a servant of
Christ,” he says “and I’ve been called to proclaim the gospel of God.” And
that’s what he did, fearlessly and with energy and imagination till the day
he died: preaching, debating, writing letters, and even challenging St.
Peter to rethink some of his most cherished ideas.

Paul was special, no doubt about it. But there’s something important that
every one of us Christians has in common with him, namely, that we’re all
called to proclaim God’s good news. We have that call by virtue of our
Baptism. For each of us, answering that call will take a different shape,
depending upon our gifts. Most of us won’t be preachers or debaters or
writers of great letters, and that’s probably a mercy in a world of too much
talk! But all of us face the challenge of crafting a lifestyle that
unambiguously proclaims the Good News.

What would such a lifestyle look like? If we believe that God is a loving
father who has destined us for eternal life with him, and if we believe that
the only way to reach our destiny is to become like our father — in other
words, to become first-class lovers — then our lives are going to take on
quite a distinctive shape. If we really believe, even our faces will look
different: peaceful, confident, happy, and free of fear.

And that brings us to today’s question: What kind of news is your lifestyle
proclaiming to the world? What is your face telling all who see it? Is it
good news? I hope so, but if it’s not, why settle for second best even one
more day? Take in the Lord’s Good News and let it shine from the inside out.

ONE'S WORTH
Author Unknown
October 10, 2011


A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20
bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"
Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one
of you, but first,
let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill in his hand.
He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the
air. "Well, what if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and
started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now
all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still, the hands
went up.

"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter
what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not
decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we
are dropped, crumpled
and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the
circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless.
But, no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never
lose your value in God's eyes. To Him, dirty or clean, crumpled or
finely creased, you are still priceless.

Thought: The worth of our lives come not in what we do or who we are,
but in WHOSE we are.


EYE OPENER
Author Unknown


I saw him in the church building for the first time on Wednesday. He
was in his mid-70's, with thinning silver hair and a neat brown suit.
Many times in the past I had invited him to come. Several other
Christian friends had talked to him about the Lord and had tried to
share the good news with him.

He was a well-respected, honest man with so many characteristics a
Christian should have, but he had never put on Christ, nor entered the
doors of the church.

"Have you ever been to a church service in your life?" I had asked him
a few years ago. We had just finished a pleasant day of visiting and
talking.

He hesitated. Then with a bitter smile he told me of his childhood
experience some fifty years ago. He was one of many children in a
large impoverished family. His parents had struggled to provide food,
with little left for housing and clothing. When he was about ten, some
neighbors invited him to worship with them.

The Sunday School class had been very exciting! He had never heard
such songs and stories before!

He had never heard anyone read from the Bible! After class was over,
the teacher took him aside and said, "Son, please don't come again
dressed as you are now. We want to look our best when we come into
God's house."

He stood in his ragged, unpatched overalls. Then looking at his dirty
bare feet, he answered softly, "No, ma'am, I won't ever."

"And I never did," he said, abruptly ending our conversation.

There must have been other factors to have hardened him so, but this
experience formed a significant part of the bitterness in his heart.

I'm sure that Sunday School teacher meant well. But did she really
understand the love of Christ? Had she studied and accepted the
teachings found in the second chapter of James?

What if she had put her arms around the dirty, ragged little boy and
said, "Son, I am so glad you are here, and I hope you will come every
chance you get to hear more about Jesus."

I reflected on the awesome responsibility a teacher or pastor or a
parent has to welcome little ones in His name. How far reaching her
influence was!

I prayed that I might be ever open to the tenderness of a child's
heart, and that I might never fail to see beyond the appearance and
behavior of a child to the eternal possibilities within.

Yes, I saw him in the church house for the first time on Wednesday. As
I looked at that immaculately dressed old gentleman lying in his
casket, I thought of the little boy of long ago. I could almost hear
him say, "No, ma'am, I won't ever."

And I wept.

Mother Teresa Said...
Faith is a gift from God.
When God comes to you or you go to God, then you will have the chance to
accept Him or reject Him.
Accepting Him is the gift of faith.

Jesus, you have given everything, life, blood, all. Now it is my turn. I put
everything into the field also. The common soldier fights in the ordinary
lines, but the devoted one tries to be near the captain to share his fate.
This is the spirit of Christ.

We have a right to be happy and peaceful. We have been created for this - we
are born to be happy - and we can only find true happiness and peace when we
are in love with God; there is joy in loving God, great happiness in loving
Him.

To make sure that we do not forget, Jesus gave us the Eucharist as a
memorial of his love ... When you look at the Crucifix, you understand how
much Jesus loved you then, when you look at the Sacred Host you understand
how much Jesus loves you now."

"The Eucharist is connected with the Passion. If Jesus had not established
the Eucharist we would have forgotten the crucifixion. It would have faded
into the past and we would have forgotten that Jesus loved us. There is a
saying that to be far away from the eyes is to be far away from the heart.

Count Your Blessings

Count your blessings instead of your crosses,
Count you gains instead of your losses,
Count your joys instead of your woes,
Count your friends instead of your foes.

Count your courage instead of your fears,
Count your laughs instead of your tears.
Count your full years instead of your lean,
Count your kind deeds instead of your mean.

Count you health instead of your wealth,
Count on God instead of yourself.


~ Author Unknown

DON´T WORRY

To worry does no good at all,
But does a lot of harm;

It puts cross lines upon your face,
and dissipates your charm.

Whatever is to be, will be;
That, worry cannot change;

It only serves to dim your joy,
And all your firends estrange.

'Tis lack of confidence in self
That causes worry's fright;

A lack of faith in God's design
Your happiness will delight.

Then case aside those gloomy throughts,
That bring on doubt and fear;

Just live your faith, and trust in Him,
And worry will disappear.




Just for today, Lord

I will live through the next 12 hours and not try to tackle all of life's
problems at once.

I will improve my mind. I will learn something useful. I will learn
something that requires effort, thought, and concentration.

I will be agreeable. I will look my best, speak in well-modulated voice, be
courteous and considerate.

I will not find fault with friend, relative or colleague. I will not try to
change or improve anyone other than myself.

I will have a program. I might not follow it exactly, but I will have it. I
will save myself from two enemies, hurry and indecision.

I will do a good turn and keep it secret. If anyone finds out, it won't
count.

I will do two things I don't want to do. Just for exercise.

I will believe in myself. I will give my best to the world and feel
confident that the world will give it's best to me.

Prayer in Praise of God's Greatness
Almighty, true and incomparable God, you are present in all things, yet in
no way limited by them. You remain unaffected by place, untouched by time,
unperturbed by years, and undeceived by words. You are not subject to birth
and in no need of protection. You are beyond all corruption, above all
change, immutable by nature. You live in unapproachable light and are
invisible, yet you are known to all those who seek you with hope and love.
You are the God of Israel, and of all who hope in Christ. Amen.

Apostolic Constitutions

A Prayer

My Lord,
I offer you my thoughts: to be fixed on you;
My words: to have you for their theme;
My actions: to reflect my love for you;
My sufferings: to be endured for your greater glory.

I want to do what you ask of me:
In the way you ask,
For as long as you ask,
Because you ask it.

Lord, enlighten my understanding,
Strengthen my will,
Purify my heart,
and make me holy.

Help me to repent of my past sins
And to resist temptation in the future.
Help me to rise above my human weaknesses
And to grow stronger as a Christian.

Amen

Good night everyone! Sweet Dreams and may you all have many Tuesday
blessings - they are there - thank and praise God for them!!